Post-Graduate Data

Early Cultures

The Program in Early Cultures is an interdisciplinary concentration that integrates the cultures, religions, and histories of ancient civilizations. Geographically, the “ancient world” includes early China and India, West Asia (Mesopotamia, Iran, Anatolia, and Israel), Egypt, the Mediterranean (especially Greece and Italy), the early Islamic and Byzantine worlds, and the Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations. Students in Early Cultures gain in-depth knowledge of the history, religions, languages, and literatures of two or more ancient civilizations. In consultation with a concentration advisor, students design their own areas of study. Examples of possible topics include: cultural contacts between Greece and Egypt/West Asia; animal sacrifice in Greece and Israel; comparative legal studies: Israel, Hatti, and Mesopotamia; gender roles in Rome and Egypt; Wisdom literature in Egypt, Israel, and Mesopotamia; and the historiography of the exact sciences in India and Greece.

Here's what concentrators from the classes of 2012, 2013, and 2014, reported they were doing in their first year after graduation.